Working at ENCS – Hamid Rahmouni

What is it like inside ENCS? We captured the experiences of one of our long-standing team members, Hamid Rahmouni, who shared insights into his journey at ENCS. Find out more below:

What do you do at ENCS?

Currently, I work as a senior tester, conducting penetration testing on embedded systems and OT (operational technology) and I also teach new employees about the technology we work with. Given we work in such a niche area of cyber security, the technology is likely to be unfamiliar to them but I play a key role in helping this transition.

What attracted you to the company?

Whilst I was at university, I studied technical informatics, which focuses on the interaction of IT (information technology) and OT (operational technology).

There was a real lack of people who understood this, but it was great preparation for my internship after university, which blended IT and embedded systems. With this in mind, ENCS was a perfect for me because it delved into embedded systems, IT, OT and more specifically, smart grids.

What’s it like to work at ENCS?

It’s open and collaborative. There’s also a real emphasis from a management level on carving out your own path, which is great for personal development. I know if there’s anything I’m interested in or issues I want to raise, I’ll have the support I need.

What’s your favourite part about working at ENCS?

Finding creative security solutions for clients. You’ve got the opportunity to have a genuine impact and you get to have fun whilst doing so. For example, we create state-of-the-art testing tools for our clients, which educate them on how attacks are carried out.

It’s through measures such as these they really understand how to best anticipate an attack.

What’s the most exciting thing you’ve been working on recently?

We have developed our own requirements-based security testing programme which allows us to establish system security in a standard, repeatable way. It’s exciting because the fact they are reproduceable means the requirements can be used beyond ENCS and have a wide and significant impact on security in the sector. I’ve been at the centre of this initiative so that has been very rewarding for me.

What’s special about ENCS compared to other organisations which provide cyber-security training?

As we’re a non-profit company, we can truly devote all of our efforts to helping users. We can be honest enough to provide them with the most suitable advice and educate them on cyber security, which really is our core mission.

What would you say to someone considering a cyber security career in the energy sector?

It’s quite tough to learn about cyber security if you’re not in the sector but this shouldn’t discourage you. There’s opportunities to play a key role in protecting consumers in the energy sector, which will only grow as the world becomes more digitalised. It’s a great time to get involved!

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